Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Name: Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 medium tart apples; 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder; 1/2 stick of butter; 1 package of Pillsbury Grand Cinnamon Muffins (You could use your favorite brand.)

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Easy apple pie cinnamon rolls use Pillsbury Grand Cinnamon Rolls and fresh apples to dress up the breakfast classic in festive fall and holiday flavors. Ready in minutes, these cinnamon rolls make an extra special breakfast, side dish, or dessert!

A plate with an Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll in front of a cake pan full of Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls — Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

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Want a way to make your kitchen smell like a cozy fall morning or festive holiday meal while also making a dish that my kid says is- and I quote- “the best thing she’s ever eaten!”?

Then you need to make these easy apple pie cinnamon rolls!

No need to make homemade cinnamon rolls here.

Just get a can of Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls and stuff them with a quick and easy apple pie filling that is sort of a less sweetened version of our amazing Fried Apples.

And viola!

Autumnal and holiday breakfast perfection! (Though if you do want Christmas specific cinnamon rolls check out this easy Christmas tree cinnamon roll recipe or this Christmas wreath cinnamon roll recipe.)

A kitchen that smells like a cozy fall candle.

And happy kids willing to eat this extra special creation!

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Ingredients for apple pie cinnamon rolls: cinnamon rolls, apples, butter, and cinnamon

You don’t need a lot to make apple pie cinnamon rolls:

Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls – Use the Grands style purely to pack them full of more apple pie flavor.
Tart apples – Use a tart varietiy ike Jonagold or Granny Smith. Both of these hold up well when you cook them. Remove the cores and cut them into small pieces.
Cinnamon – The cinnamon is to help flavor the apple pie filling you prepare before baking the apple pie muffins.
Butter – The butter is to lightly cook the apples in before stuffing the cinnamon rolls.

For kitchen supplies, some helpful tools include:

Sharp Paring Knife
Round Pie or Cake Pan
Peeler (if you want to peel the apples)
Medium Pan

How to make apple pie cinnamon rolls

1. Cook the apples and preheat the oven.

Cook the apples with cinnamon and butter

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Wash, core, and dice your apples into small slivers.

Melt the butter in a medium to large pan over medium heat.

Once the butter melts, stir in the apples and cinnamon.

Cook them for about 3 or until the butter has cooked down. The apples should still be fairly firm.

Remove from heat and let them cool until you can safely handle them.

2. Stuff the cinnamon buns.

Put the rolls into a pie dish or baking dish, pulling them apart so there's room for you to stuff the apples in. — Put the rolls into a pie dish or baking dish, pulling them apart so there’s room for you to stuff the apples in.

Gently pull apart the cinnamon buns, leaving them basically intact, but making large enough openings between the layers to stuff the apples in.

Carefully push the apples into the layers of the cinnamon rolls.

You will likely have some left over apples that you can eat or save for later.

Stuff the apple pie filling into the cinnamon rolls.

3. Bake the apple pie cinnamon rolls.

Apple pie cinnamon rolls out of the oven

Put the apple cinnamon rolls into the preheated oven.

Bake for about 25 to 27 minutes or until the outside and top of the buns turn a golden brown.

Once the rolls are golden, take them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before spooning the icing over each apple pie cinnamon roll.

Drizzle the icing onto the apple pie cinnamon rolls. Tip: if you want the icing drizzled maybe don’t let small kids help. Mine dumped it right on

Serve warm and enjoy!

Storing Leftovers

Like most cinnamon buns, these cinnamon buns with apple pie filling are best served fresh when you make them.

Otherwise, store the apple pie cinnamon rolls in an air tight container or tightly wrapped in the pan you baked them in the refridgerator.

They should keep well for about 2 to 3 days.

When ready to eat, you can reheat in the microwave for a few seconds or a warm oven for a few minutes to serve.

Making Ahead

If you do plan to make ahead, you can make the filling the night before.

Once it is cool enough to handle, you can stuff the apple cinnamon buns like we mentioned above.

Put the apple pie stuffed cinnamon buns into a cake dish and cover it tightly with foil.

Then refrigerate the dish until you are ready to bake the cinnamon rolls.

FAQs

What apples not to use for apple pie?

You should avoid Red Delicious, Fuji, and Gala apples. These do not hold up well in the oven and tend to create mushy messes. For best results, you should use Granny Smith, Jonagold, or another tart, firm apple variety.

Should you cook apples before putting them into these cinnamon rolls?

Yes!
Unlike some pie recipes which have a longer bake time the cinnamon rolls are out of the oven in under 30 minutes. You want to give them a quick saute on the stovetop to help them soften and caramelize.

Can I leave the skin on apples for pie?

Some people recommend peeling apples before baking them in a pie to help them come together. When making cinnamon buns buns with apple pie filling, we generally keep the skins on since they don’t bother us and we aren’t about making extra work where we can help it!

Can I just use canned filling instead?

While you can absolutely use canned apple pie filling if that’s your jam, the fresh filling does have better flavor. If you want to substitute canned apple pie filling for the quick apples here, just rough chop the filling first so you don’t have to stuff huge chunks of apples into the rolls.

Tips and Tricks

You can peel the apples before adding them to the cinnamon rolls, but you do not have to.
Do not use sugar when cooking the apples in the pan. This can make them too sweet.
You can add some additional spices to the apples if you like. Ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves can all add a bit of flavor and spice to the apples.
When baking the apple pie cinnamon rolls, follow the package instructions of the cinnamon buns for the correct temperature to use. Grands bake at 350F, so we follow that for our recipe. However, the cook time will likely be closer to the longer cook time listed on the package and may even go over.
If making ahead, do not ice them until you are ready to serve them.

Other Cozy Fall Breakfast Recipes

Celebrate the best of the fall season with these other cozy fall breakfast ideas:

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